Himself
by BookCaseGirl
Summary: Fifth and final part to "Time Passed" series. Junior goes to Kris' house, and what will he find? Will this situation make or break their pending relationship?
1. Back

A/N: Okay, so this last part to the series is actually going to be normal! Yay! I was confusing myself as I re-read the different parts, but now I'm refreshed. The other parts will continue to be updated, but this final part will be completely in the present. In the first chapter there isn't really anything that needs to be explained more. So this will be the last part and I'll try to keep updating. I'm just about done with another oneshot, and then l8r im gonna try to do a few updates for rekindled, i havn't updated in a while! I'll get around to undying soon, i hope. but, until then, I'd still love ideas for more oneshots!

thx --BookCaseGirl

He stopped in front of the house, and sat in his car, gazing up at the lit windows on the second floor. Being as it was only five o'clock in the morning, it was still dark out, and lights were on in the home. He wondered if what he had done was a mistake. If Kris had moved in a house such as this, then what if she had married? What if he rang the doorbell, and the person that answered was her husband? What if she had children?

Junior stopped himself and told himself to just go up there. He needed to know that she was okay, that she was doing well, that she... He just needed to see her, to talk to her. He gently, quietly, opened the door of his Nissan, and then locked it with his keys before going up to the front door of the house.

He stood on the porch for a moment, looking around at his surroundings. There were trees everywhere, as if Kris were trying to keep people out, to keep herself isolated. Finally, he gently knocked on the door. He heard footsteps rush to the door, and he stood there, bouncing on his toes anxiously. The door opened slowly and what met his eyes astonished him.

She couldn't believe it. She was sure she was dreaming, that this wasn't real. For those first few years she had thought and thought about this very moment, but then she'd stopped. Now it seemed that it was really happening, and all she could do was stand there, unblinking. He looked different, taller even. Though she had thought it impossible, she still felt that spark of connection and love when she saw him there, on her doorstep.

She looked so different. She looked as if she'd gained weight, making her a little more plump, but even more beautiful. Her hair had been cut in a short bob, bouncing under her chin. She looked tired, run-down. As if she hadn't slept in weeks, months even. Junior resisted the urge to reach out and touch her, to caress every part of her, to let her know just how much he still cared about her. He looked up into her eyes and he saw tears begin to sparkle around the rims. He gave her a sad look and she reached in and embraced him in a hug.

She just couldn't help it. After all these years, she longed to feel his arms around her again. It didn't feel the same though. He had changed. She wasn't sure how, yet, but somehow he had changed. His hug was different, a little more reluctant. But then, after they'd held on to each other a little longer, his arms wrapped around her middle firmly, and as she tried to pull away, he wouldn't let her. It reminded her of when Tim had tried to be away from her for the first time. He'd done the exact same thing, he hadn't let go.

He buried his head into her neck and breathed her smell in. She no longer smelled like strawberries and orchids. Her smell had changed. It smelled like dove soap and some kind of flowery shampoo. When she tried to pull away, he wouldn't let her. He knew they'd been standing there for an ungodly amount of time, but they needed to make up for those eight years. Those eight years when they hadn't been able to touch each other, hold each other. Finally he loosened his grip a little, but still held on.

When Junior let go a little, Kris tried to pull away again, and this time he let her. Wordlessly, she pulled the door shut behind her and stepped out onto the porch. She led him to her small Honda CR-V and he followed her lead, getting in on the passenger side as she got in on the driver's side. He wasn't sure what they were doing, but at this point, all he wanted was to be with her. All he wanted was to kiss her, hold her, make love to her. Even though the first and last things would most likely need to wait a while, he still wanted them. He needed her. He realized that now. The emptiness he had been feeling for the past 8 years had filled up the moment that he'd seen her in the doorway of the house. He was never leaving her again. He would do anything to make her love him again, because it was her, and it would always be her. She was the one that made him complete, that filled all the voids in his existence. Kris made Junior feel like a person, not like the shell of himself he'd been these last years. For the first time since that wonderful night when he had made love to her for the last time, he felt happy. He felt like himself.


	2. Diner

A/N: Maybe another update tonight, but don't bet on it. Please review my new story I posted in the M section. I don't have any reviews. I wanted to try another one and see how it turned out. I know that a lot of people don't really go there, but if you could that would make me happy. I hope you enjoy the update!

--BookCaseGirl

They had been driving for a little while, about a half-hour. Kris decided to break the silence. She realized after she spoke that the asked probably the most lame question she could have ever asked Junior.

"So, how have you been?" Kris asked him, glancing over at him and then turning her attention back to the road.

Junior answered simply, "Okay."

She turned left at the traffic light and realized they were getting there faster than she thought. It was 5:45, and this would have to be quick if she wanted to be home in time to drop Tim off at school. _Crap,_ Kris thought to herself,_ What the hell am I gonna tell Junior? He can't know about Tim. It's too soon. For both of them, and me too._

She pulled into the Diner that was in town. She came here pretty frequently. The man that owned the place had become like a father to her in the past few years, and a grandfather-type figure to Tim. She parked in a spot close to the door and left the keys in the ignition for a few moments. She finally turned off the car and heard Junior get out rather quickly. She unbuckled and followed him inside.

"Hey, Kris. How's it goin' sweetheart? Who's your friend?" Garry asked her. He was already holding one menu, since he saw her drive up. He grabbed another menu and led them to a table outside on the cement porch.

"Huh? Oh, uh, this is Junior," Kris said as she sat down.

The man extended his hand and Junior accepted it politely. "I'm Garry," he said.

"Nice to meet ya." Junior pulled his hand away and looked over at Kris, who was looking down at her menu. He didn't blame her. He was happy that after eight years she hadn't even slammed the door in his face. They had made great progress in the 45 minutes that they had been in each other's presence.

She knew what she wanted. She'd been coming here for 5 years, and she sure as hell didn't need to look at the flimsy laminated paper she was holding. She was just trying to avoid Junior's gaze. She didn't know what to do. He hadn't bothered to contact her at all in all the time that he had been gone, and it had hurt her. Now he just showed up out of the blue, and she was so confused.

She let him back in without asking any questions, and she wasn't quite sure that was the greatest idea. She'd taken him here to talk, to get things straightened out. She couldn't do that in her house because of her son. Seeing as he was an eight year old, he had to stick his nose in everything, and she wasn't ready to put that kind of drama into his life yet.

"Sooo... What do you recommend getting?" Junior asked Kris, trying to start a conversation.

"Um, pancakes are always good. But he makes good omelettes, too. I'd say either one would be pretty safe," Kris answered, still not looking up from her menu.

Junior felt anger rise inside of him. She'd hugged him. That was a pretty big gesture coming from Kris Furillo. The least she could do now was look at him, talk to him. Treat him like a decent human being. Maybe the last one was a bit much to ask for, but still, she could at _least_ look at him.

"Dammit, Kris!" Junior slammed his fist on the table. "Look at me!"

Kris looked up abruptly and Junior saw something in her eyes that he never thought he would cause her. He saw fear. She shrunk back into her seat and sulkily put her arms around herself, looking at him. He looked away and then back at her, then away again, not saying anything. Just then, their waitress came and saved the pending conversation. She took their orders and left the table.

"Kris, please, just say something," Junior prodded gently with his voice. She looked up at him and straightened up, sitting in her full height in her seat. She looked intently at him before speaking.

"What are you doing here? You've been gone for eight years, and now you're back? The least you could do is explain yourself, Junior."

"I- Came back to see you. I needed to see you. I-I missed you," Junior said looking into her eyes sadly.

"Well,if you missed me so much, Junior, you could've called. Eight years is a hell of a long time to go without talking to someone you claim to love." Kris wasn't letting Junior off the hook. He was going to have to explain a lot more and say a lot more than "I missed you". After such a long time, it just wasn't enough.

"Okay, I understand. It's-I-" Junior started, but then stopped himself. He took a deep breath, and then spoke again. "I needed time. I know I should've called, but I was stupid and I was younger then. That's not an excuse, but I know now that aging has helped. I'm more grown up now and I realize that what I did was wrong. I really wish I could go back, but I can't and all I can do is keep apologizing, Kris. What I did was so wrong, and I hurt you probably more than I know. I get that, and I understand if you aren't ready to let me in," Junior told her.

It was like he had read her mind. That was exactly what she had been thinking and it surprised her that even after so long without contact they were still on that wire. That they still knew each other so well. That Junior could still read her mind like he could the first day they'd met.

"I-" Kris began, but was interrupted by the waitress coming with their food. She picked at her sausage and pancakes and Junior did the same with his. Finally Kris, broke the silence. She'd made an executive decision to allow Junior back in, but only because of their history. It would be cruel to completely ignore his presence.

"Junior, I- Well, I'm glad you came back. I have something to take care of at home, but do you maybe wanna hang out a little later?" Kris asked him.

"Yeah, absolutely. I'd love to," Junior answered. He was thrilled that this wasn't as hard as he had thought it would be. He was incredibly lucky, and he knew that now. He really loved Kris, and he needed to make sure that that was clear to her after today, even though he was already pretty sure it was.

"Okay, well, I'll drop you off at your car, and then I guess- I'll uh, see ya later," Kris told him as they pulled into the driveway of her house.

"Yeah, bye, Kris," Junior said, walking over to her and giving her a sweet, friendly, kiss on the cheek.


	3. Unwelcome

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Kris spat out as she walked into the house finding someone she never thought she would have to deal with again.

"I came to see you, and Tim, too. How is he? God, the kid must be what, eight now?" Ken Davis told Kris. She hadn't seen him since the day she had come to his doorstep, pregnant and desperate, 8 years ago. He was scruffier, with a beard and a mustache. She'd begged him, uncharacteristic for her, for money and a place to stay, but, just as she had suspected, he'd done nothing. He was a cold-hearted bastard. He wouldn't even help his grandson. Now all of a sudden he wanted to see them? _No,_ Kris thought furiously.

"You don't care. What do you want? Why did you come here?" Kris shot at him.

"Well, I thought I'd come by and see if the rumors really were true. That my son was back," Ken sneered at her, knowing he'd thrown her off.

"How did you-" Kris started. She was taken aback. She couldn't ask him that, she already knew. He was _Ken Davis_. He knew everything.

"Matt called. Junior came by to his house and asked where you were. Does he know yet? Because I'd be more than happy to tell him for ya," Ken told her, with an incredibly fake smile on his face.

"You stay away from him, and me, and Tim! You belong alone, like you have been for the past 8 years. You deserve it. I can't count the number of times you tried to split Junior and me up, and the hatred I have for you is one that I can't express right now, so just get the hell out of my home. And _leave Junior alone,_" Kris bit out the last part slowly, gritting her teeth.

"Fine, fine. But, just remember, Kris. Father and son can't be kept apart for forever," Ken said as he walked out backwardly.

"Not if I have anything to say about it, Ken!" Kris shouted after him as he shut the door. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and looked at her watch. It was 7 o'clock, and time to take Tim to school. She'd call in sick today, she needed the day off. She needed to talk to Junior. She needed to have a serious talk with _herself._

"Mom? Who was here?" Tim asked from the bottom of the stairs, his backpack on and tin Superman lunch-box in hand.

"No one, honey. Are ya ready for school? You brushed your teeth? Ate breakfast?" Kris asked as she smoothed his hair down.

"Yeah, Mom, geez. I _can_ take care of myself, you know," he told her, turning away from under her arm. Kris smiled and resisted the urge to say how much like his father he was. She'd tried not to tell him to much about Junior, for fear of breaking down. She'd shown him a picture once, many years ago, and she had let him keep it. She knew it would be hard when the day came that Junior and Tim needed to meet. Tim would ask so many, too many, questions. He was an eight-year-old, after all, and they were very curious.

She was scared of Junior's reaction. She knew that the sooner she told him, the better it would be. She knew that he would just be happy she told him, but she never knew exactly what went on in his head. She had a pretty good idea, but could never be sure. She also had Ken to contend with. It needed to come from her, and not his estranged father. His father didn't even know Tim, and she did. It needed to come from her, and soon, before Ken found him and told him. Because that was exactly what he would do. Anything to get Junior back at Davis. _She_ needed to tell him. This afternoon was as good a time as any.


	4. Bridge

A/N: I'm glad so many of you are enjoying this! I really like to write it, too! I'll keep updating as fast as I can! Enjoy!

He got back to his hotel room and showered. Then he changed out of his tattered jeans and plain t-shirt. Instead he put on some nicer darker jeans and a red dress shirt. He was excited for this afternoon. Excited to spend time with Kris. He was thrilled that everything was going to be okay.

She was so nervous. She didn't know where to take him this afternoon. Although she knew a ton of great places they could go, she just wanted to go somewhere quiet where they could talk. She went upstairs and changed into a pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt. She thought about where to go as she was changing and then it hit her. _We should just stay here,_ Kris thought. _I mean, this is as quiet a place as any._

It was 1:45 now and Kris hadn't really told him a time, so he went over anyway. He'd found it was only about 20 minutes from the hotel to her home. He parked near her car and went up and rang the doorbell.

She was startled when she heard the doorbell. He'd knocked this morning, so she had assumed that he would knock now too, but she'd been wrong. She ran downstairs quickly and collected herself in front of the door. She took a few deep breaths and smoothed her shirt before she turned the knob and opened it.

He looked great. He'd obviously cleaned up since this morning and she felt completely under-dressed compared to Junior. He smiled graciously at Kris and poked his head in a little.

"Can I come in? Or are we gonna go somewhere else?" He asked.

"U-Oh, yeah, you can come in. Sorry. I,uh, I haven't had time to change. Lemme go upstairs and do that now. Umm... there's iced tea in the blue pitcher in the fridge and there's also soda, I think all we have is Coke though," Kris told him, slightly yelling the last part as she walked up the stairs.

Junior looked around. She was definitely living well without him. He still didn't know why she had decided to live in a house of her own, but maybe it really didn't matter. He found the kitchen after a little bit of searching and took out a bottle of water. That seemed to be the safest choice of beverage since he didn't know where the glasses were and didn't want to snoop around to find them.

He suddenly heard footsteps just as he was about to sit down at a stool near the island. He got up swiftly and leaned on the table, bottle in hand as Kris came in in a flowery flow-y shirt and some black pants. She continued to walk into the living room and tidied up a little bit. He could tell that she was nervous. He just needed her to know that she didn't have to be nervous around him. If anything, he should have been nervous. In fact, he was nervous. He just apparently wasn't showing it as much as Kris.

"So what do you wanna do?" Junior asked her as he walked over to her where she was cleaning in the living room. She was now working on her fifth fluff on one pillow.

She knew he was trying to make her more comfortable. She was just being haunted by, well, everything. She didn't want to ruin this afternoon by telling him that, by the way, he had a son. It would just wreck everything. But, she didn't want his father to find him somehow and tell him either. She made a resolution to just wait a day or two. See how things turned out.

"Hellooo?? Kris? Anybody in there?" he asked her, waving his arms in front of her face. She stopped abruptly and turned to him, a pensive look on her face.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry, Junior. I'm just- a little- I'm a little distracted, sorry." Kris put the pillow down and flopped on the couch.

"Listen, I get it. Why don't we just watch come TV?" Junior asked as he found the remote on the end table and pushed the power button. He spent about five minutes flipping through channels and still didn't find anything. He turned it off and through the remote control lightly back on the table next to him.

"Well I guess TV's out of the question," Kris said with a small smile as she looked over at him.

He sighed and looked back at her. He stared at her for a few moments and realized how much she'd changed. She wasn't the same Kris Furillo she'd been all those years ago. They'd both changed, in fact. He wondered for a fleeting moment if that meant that they couldn't be together anymore. That thought passed quickly as he didn't want to dwell on the negative.

"Hey, Junior?" Kris asked him, biting her bottom lip.

"Yeah?" He said quickly.

"Well, can you just explain what happened? I mean, there was just- It- I- can you just tell me please?" Kris asked him, referring to before he left.

"I lost it. I saw you with Matt at the party and I went ballistic. You said that you'd break up with him and I guess I wanted that to happen faster than it actually did. So I packed up and left. Got as far away from here as possible, I changed a lot," Junior began.

"Well, what've you been doing the past eight years?" Kris asked him, not completely sure she would want to know the answer.

"Well, I-Uh, I- Don't exactly know how to tell you this. I was seeing a therapist, still am kinda, actually. But, I just- I didn't have any friends after I left Fremont, and I guess I felt a little lonely. Pathetic- I know," Junior said.

"It's not pathetic," Kris told him.

"Well, anyway, I kind of, well, got into a funk I guess and she helped me a lot. I haven't really been doing much else since I left. What've you been doing?" Junior asked her.

Oh no, there it was. The question that made her say what she'd been dreading. She had to tell him, she had to and she knew that.

"Oh, you know, just working. I retired from bein' a jockey. I work at a lawyer's office now. I'm a secretary. Wildfire had retired a coupla years ago so I just didn't feel like racing anymore, you know?" Kris told him.

"Ah, yeah. I can imagine. So, how's that working out for you? Your job, I mean," Junior said to Kris.

"Good. I actually like it a little more than I thought I would. I always thought being cooped up in a building all day would bore me out of my mind, but its not so bad."

"So, anything else happen?" he asked her.

"Well- No." Kris replied smiling shyly.

He looked down for a moment and wondered what exactly the potential of this little meeting could be. What could come out of it. They'd only just seen each other this morning, but he felt like they hadn't missed out on anything when he'd been gone. He looked back up at Kris and realized she was staring off into space, thinking about something. He considered asking what she was thinking about, but thought better of it.

"Well, I think I should probably go," Junior said to Kris.

"Oh, uhm, okay. Yeah, it is getting a little late," she said. "Let me show you out." They got up and walked over to the door. Junior stood in the frame for a moment.

"Well, this was nice, Kris. It really was. We should do it again, sometime," he told her.

"Yeah, we should," she replied a small grin spreading on the beautiful features of her face.

Junior looked at her, and before he could think about it, let his gaze slowly fall down to her shiny lips. He leaned in without thinking and kissed her. He realized he'd done the wrong thing because she pulled away quickly, making a face as if she'd eaten bad cheese. However, Kris leaned back in and kissed him, too. This time his tongue brushed her lips and he tasted a tangy orange-ness to them. They both pulled away and looked anywhere but at each other. The kiss was very brief and both were a little ashamed.

"I'm sorry, that was totally inappropriate," Junior said to Kris.

"Yeah, I-I'm sorry too. You should, uh, you should go," Kris told him looking over his shoulder at a yellow finch flying around outside.

"Okay, well, I guess I'll, um, see ya then," Junior said before turning around and leaving. He got in his car and banged a fist on his steering wheel. He'd probably wrecked what little bit of a bridge they'd built that day in less than two seconds, and all because he couldn't control himself. He'd have to work on that.


	5. Love Pt 1

A/N: Okay there were a couple of reviews where you guys kinda told me how to write this, so I combined those two and VOILA! Here you goooo! REVIEW!

Junior was driving back to the hotel when he realized he left his jacket at Kris' house. He made a u-turn and drove back in the direction of the house. He brought the car to a stop quickly and jogged up to the door. He knocked impatiently and looked around. He noticed Kris' car was parked in a different spot than it had been earlier. He wondered why, and considered asking before the door flew open.

"W-Hey. What are you doing back so soon?" Kris asked him. She sounded flustered. He wasn't sure if it was because of whatever she had been doing before she answered the door, or because it was him standing there.

"I forgot my jacket. I'm really sorry. I think I left it over on the couch," Junior told her as she opened the door to allow him in. He walked over to the sofa and grabbed the old, tattered, piece of leather. He slung it over his arm and started to walk out. Something crossed his mind right before he walked out that door, and he acted on a whim for the second time that morning.

"You know, I forgot something else, too," He told Kris before dropping his coat right in the middle of the floor, turning on his heel and walking up to her. He swept her off her feet in a mind-blowing kiss. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist and he carried her over to the sofa that they'd left not too long ago. Their kissing became a little less passionate as they started to take each other's clothes off. Kris unbuttoned Junior's silky shirt and Junior finished the job before kissing her neck affectionately. Kris moaned, rather loudly, as Junior darted his tongue in and out of her mouth. He swirled it around and she moaned again, a little softer this time.

He heard his mom. And she sounded hurt, or like she was in pain. He quickly shut the math book he was studying from and grabbed a baseball bat from his toy-chest. If someone thought they were gonna hurt his mom, they were dead wrong. _I'll kill 'em_, Tim thought to himself. He walked out of his room, prepared to put up a fight.

They were both getting so lost in each other. Kris' shirt had been taken off, Junior's belt buckle loosened. Kris didn't even notice Tim's presence until she pulled away from Junior for a moment to catch her breath. She couldn't let the see each other, they'd know as soon as they looked at one another. Both of them would, and she couldn't have them find out this way. Trying to avert Junior's looking over his shoulder, she began to kiss his neck. At the same time, she gave Tim a death glare. He didn't get the message and walked over to where she and Junior were. He was just about to club Junior when Kris yelled at him.

"Timothy Andrew! Put that bat away right now and leave!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "We will talk later, young man."

"Wha-huh?" Junior asked, still in the daze of the passionate moment they had been sharing. He was very confused and didn't know what the hell Kris was talking about. He turned around abruptly and saw some kid running up the stairs. "Oh, you baby-sit, huh? Well, I'm sorry then," Junior told her, being very guy-like. "How come you didn't tell me?"

"I-I,uh, well- Y-you see," Kris started, stuttering. She began to put her shirt back on and buttoned it quickly, thinking fast as she did so. "Well, Junior, I think you should meet Tim. Formally I mean. But before you do, there's something you need to know."

"Well, go ahead, tell me," Junior told her as he buckled his belt and grabbed his shirt, slipping it over his strong arms. He buttoned it and awaited Kris' answer.

"Um, do you remember the thing that started all of this?" Kris asked him.

"Uh, yeeaahhhh," he stated, a lazy, boyish grin creeping onto his face. He wasn't sure why she was bringing this up now. He was very intruiged.

"Well, that- the- we-" Kris couldn't finish the sentence. She knew she wasn't making any sense at all. She just wasn't prepared for this. Of all the things she thought would happen today, this was at the bottom of her list. She knew she'd have to tell him sometime, but she just didn't think it would be less than 12 hours after they'd seen each other again.

"Kris, you're not making complete sentences," Junior said.

"Tim's yours!" Kris got out in a rush. She felt indescribably lighter, but the look on Junior's face brought her right back down again. He looked like a small child who had their ice cream taken away from them. His face showed the most hurt she had ever seen. This was worse than him being angry with her, much, much worse. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it, walking over to a chair to sit down.

"J-Junior, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't find out until after you left. Then I broke up with Matt and I tried to find you, but eventually I gave up. I was afraid to tell you earlier. I didn't want to ruin anything that happened this morning. I was going to tell you, I swear," Kris said walking over to him to lay her hand on his shoulder. He jerked away from her touch and she felt like bursting into tears.

"That should've been the _first_ thing out of your mouth, Kris. When I first saw you this morning, that should have been the _first_ thing you told me. It would have made all of this _so_ much easier. I just- god, I've missed so much of his life. H-How? I'm a terrible father and I've only been one for 3 minutes," Junior said staring out the window at the sun setting.

"You are _not_ a terrible father. You can't be a terrible father if you don't even know, Junior. It's my fault. I pushed you away by putting off the break-up. And I caused all of it. But, we can fix this. He's only eight, Junior. He can still have a dad. He still needs one. I'm not the greatest at taking him to little league and hockey practice. And I'm _definitely_ not great with dealing with how he acts around girls. He really is your son, I'm telling you," She said, smiling pensively.

"Can I meet him?" Junior asked her with hopeful eyes.

"I don't see why not. He's seen pictures, but you look different now, so just be careful, okay? I'll go up with you," Kris told him. She grabbed his hand and led him upstairs to the eight-year-old's room.

"Tiim... Tim, honey, open the door. I'm not mad at you, just open up please," Kris told him gently shaking the doorknob, which she now realized was locked. She heard him come up to the door and unlock it, cautiously opening it and allowing the visitors in.

He looked at the small boy of eight and it was like looking in a mirror. He was a smaller version of the man he was today, with dark brown hair and chestnut brown eyes that glinted. He even had the exact same smirk Junior had had when he was that young. A smirk that said, _I'm hot and I know it_. It was quite a face for an eight year old.

"Tim, meet your dad."

Tim's eyes got wide and his mouth dropped open as Junior gave a nervous smile. He just went right up to him and gave him a big hug. It surprised Junior at first, but then he settled in a little bit and hugged his son back.

"Junior, meet your son, Timothy Andrew Furillo."

He lifted him up still embraced in the hug and swung him around a little bit. Tim was surprised and laughed a little bit. Junior gently let him down and let go.

Kris smiled at how well they got along. He could tell the minute Junior laid eyes on Tim that he loved him just as much as she did. It was hard not to. He was a very adorable and polite young boy. That is, when he wasn't trying to get girls to kiss him. But she'd explain that to Junior later. She left the boys alone to talk and get to know each other a little better. She made sure Junior knew Tim's bedtime was at 9:00 and it was 8:30 now.

She walked slowly downstairs and got a glass of water. She sat at the island and ran her finger along the rim of the glass, thinking about how full the day had been. She really wanted Junior to stay. She wasn't sure how she would tell him, but she still loved him. Somehow, the love she had for him had survived those eight years being completely dormant in her heart. It could have been the boy that should've been in bed by now that constantly reminded her of what their love created. But it also could have been hope. Hope that he would one day come back, and be there, standing on her doorstep.


	6. Love Pt 2

Junior had learned an awful lot about his son in such a short amount of time. He was definitely a talker, just like his dad. He also enjoyed sports just as much as Junior. The thing that frightened Junior, however, was that they also shared their love for girls. Although Junior grew out of that as soon as he laid his eyes on Kris, it was obvious that this trait had been passed on to the next generation, and he wasn't sure that was a trait he wanted his son to carry.

He walked down the stairs, exhausted from his day. He saw Kris sitting at the island and went over to her, sitting down in the chair next to her. He noticed her staring out the window, deep in thought. He hated to poke into whatever she was thinking about, so he got up and grabbed his jacket. He heard the squeaking of a chair against the floor as he saw Kris get up and walk over to him.

"You leaving?" She asked him tiredly.

"Yeah, I should probably get back. 'S getting late," Junior told her as he started to walk towards the door.

Kris grabbed his arm softly and pulled him a little closer to her. "You can stay here, you know. I mean, if you don't feel like driving back so late at night," Kris told him.

"Are you sure?" Junior asked her, wanting nothing more than to crawl in a bed, he didn't care where.

"Yeah, I mean there's plenty of room. You don't have anywhere you need to be, do you?" Kris inquired.

"Nope," came Junior's simple answer.

"Cool," Kris said. She led him up to her room and turned the light on. She unzipped the sweater she had put on earlier and hung it over a chair. She went into her bathroom with her pajamas and changed quickly.

While Kris was in the bathroom, Junior stripped down to his boxers and folded his clothes, neatly putting them on the nightstand near what he assumed would be his side of the bed. He heard the bathroom door creak as Kris came out in a lacy blue and pink nightie. She yawned and stretched before getting into the bed and under the covers. Junior watched her do all of this completely mesmerized.

He finally came to his senses and went over to the light-switch, turning it off and then getting in the bed beside Kris. She snuggled up to him and he gave her a quick peck on the lips. He put his head above hers, letting hers settle into the crook of his neck. He put his arm around her body and they both lay there, thinking for a few moments.

"God, I missed you," Junior whispered to Kris and he inhaled deeply.

"I missed you too," Kris said as she looked up into his face with honesty. He looked down at her and her lips and leaned in and kissed her again, this one more deep. His tongue entwined with hers and she moaned as quietly as she could, making it sound more like a gasp. She didn't want a repeat of earlier and knew this would have to wait until their son wasn't around to snoop.

"Junior, we can't. Not now. I really, really want to. Just as much as you do. But not now," Kris said. "Tim's here, he could hear us. And I really don't wanna have that talk with him yet, do you?"

"No, no, I get it. Sorry. Let's go to sleep," Junior said as he kissed her again, this one more of a goodnight kiss.

"This has been a good day," Kris said quietly just as they were both about to nod off.

"Yeah, it has. I love you, Kris," Junior whispered right into her ear.

"I love you too," she murmured in his chest before falling asleep.


	7. Night

Tim walked into his mother's room to ask her for his medicine, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard heavy snoring. _My mom never makes that sound,_ he thought to himself. _Apparently I'm gonna get a lot of use out of that bat, _he thought again with a smirk. He went into his room and pulled it out for the second time that evening. He stalked out, armed and ready to kill.

He walked into the room again and realized the snoring had stopped. He heard his own heavy breathing, but otherwise the breathing patterns were soft. He walked over to the side of the bed that the stranger was on and saw him. His dad. He smiled at how the nice man had his arm wrapped around his mom, protecting her. _He can protect her now,_ Tim thought. _And I can take a break._ He gently put the bat down and walked over to Kris' side of the bed. He gently prodded her upper arm and jumped back a little when she was startled out of a peaceful sleep.

"Kris?" Junior asked sleepily. He stirred a little and sat up, looking at the dwarf-like thing standing next to her side of the bed. He realized when he woke up a little more that this dwarf-like thing was his son, and he probably shouldn't be calling him a dwarf-like thing. Kris sat straight up as did Junior.

"Oh, you have to take your medicine," Kris said understandingly. She pulled the covers back and Junior gave her a quizzical look. She told Tim to meet her down there and she'd be right there.

"Is something wrong with him?" Junior asked her worriedly.

"No, no he just has the flu. He needs to take an anti-biotic every 3 hours," Kris explained to him. He nodded in understanding and flopped back onto the pillows. He draped his arm over the space where Kris had been and fell back asleep within seconds. Kris was sure he wouldn't remember much of this in the morning.

She walked downstairs and gave her son the horse-pill that the doctor had prescribed. He gulped down some chocolate milk and she led him back up to his bed, where she said she would tuck him in.

"Mom?" Tim asked, once the covers were pulled up to his chin and he was completely content.

"Yeah?" She asked, smoothing his spiky hair down.

"I really like dad. He's cool," the young boy told her. He smiled and she returned it before she heard some light snoring coming from his throat. She lifted herself from the bed and walked back into her bedroom. There she found a zombie-like Junior, far into the land of sleep. She watched his tan chest rise and fall at a steady, calming pace. After watching him for a while, she crawled back in bed, lifting up his arm so she could be under it and protected again.

Before she finally dozed off, she thought about how lucky she was. She was really lucky that Junior had come back. She was even more lucky that she had someone like Tim to keep her going during the day. And then, before she let sleep swallow her whole, she realized that she was also lucky to have them both under the same roof and that they were all together. The three had only been around each other for 4 hours, and they were already a team. They were already a big, happy _family_. That word made Kris' stomach tingle with excitement. She'd never had a real family, not for a long time. And she'd promised herself that she would make up for that by making her own wonderful family, a family that you only saw in 50's shows. A family that was strong. A family that could be put through anything. A family that had an unbreakable love.


	8. Jealousy

The next morning Junior woke up and smiled at the sight before his eyes. He saw Kris, fast asleep, with a small smile plastered on her face. He wondered if she was dreaming about him like he'd dreamed about her last night. He blinked his eyes a few times, taking in the entire room. After he'd adjusted, he realized that there was a shadow on the wall, coming from something on the other side of the room. Trying not to disturb Kris out of her slumber, Junior flipped over slowly, looking at a sleeping Tim in a chair. He smiled at the boy, and realized he looked a lot like his mom.

He too smiled in his sleep. He would even raise his eyebrows like Kris did so often. He laid his head on his arm and stared at his new-found son, hypnotized at the fact that he and Kris had created something so amazing.

He wanted to ask Kris if she had pictures. He had to see what the boy had been like when he was smaller, when he was a baby. He had to know, he needed stories, explanations. Most of all, he needed a time machine. But he knew that was unrealistic, so pictures and recollections would have to do.

He heard Kris stir a little bit and after a few minutes he could feel her eyes, watching him like a hawk. He slipped out of his Tim-induced daze and turned over again to face Kris. She smiled a big smile at him and he returned it, sweetly touching his lips to hers. She ducked her head for a moment before pressing her lips to his chest. He looked at her, furrowing his eyebrows with a playful glint in his eyes, and she just smiled at him.

They both shot right up when they heard their son talking in his sleep, thinking he had woken up. He mumbled something about the umpire being a jerk and was quiet again. They both flopped back down, uttering hushed laughter as Junior pulled the comforter over both of their heads. He shook his eyebrows at Kris when they were under there, and she rolled her eyes in response.

"So, we've had an interesting 24 hours," Kris whispered to him. She watched as he stared through the opaque covers for a moment. He seemed to be thinking pretty hard about what she had just said, she didn't know why though.

"Yeah," he answered softly, his eyes relaxing a little bit. He smirked briefly, but tried to hide it so Kris didn't see. No such luck. He felt a soft blow to his arm when she playfully hit him.

"Juniooorr," she whispered. "You know that wasn't what I meant." He nodded, his lips still up-turned, and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. He gently squeezed her body to his, inhaling as he did so.

"What are we gonna do today?" Junior asked her. He picked up her hand and started to play with her fingers, memorizing the new softness to them. As much as he enjoyed it, he almost missed the calluses she used to get working on the farm. He laced entwined her fingers with his and lay them upon his chest.

"Well, I was thinking we could spend the day at the park. Its Saturday, and Tim has a by on his baseball game. It'll give us all some time to catch up, and for you and your son to get to know each other better," Kris said.

"I'd like that," he said, smiling broadly. Kris found his smile contagious and her small one widened. She pecked him on the lips and he leaned right back in and kissed her too, this one lasting longer. She smiled as his tongue tried to fight its way into her mouth. She was not unaware of the fact that their son was in the room, and she wasn't getting into this right now.

They pulled away with their foreheads touching, and Junior ran his hand up and down her arm lovingly.

"Have I told you I love you?" He asked her in a quiet tone.

"I think I heard that somewhere before," She replied, her lips curling into a small smirk.

Tim looked at the lump over on the bed. He wondered if his parents were doing what he thought they were doing. He saw no movement, so he wasn't really sure. He quietly got up and walked over to the bed, examining them more closely.

Kris and Junior could tell Tim was there. However, they didn't let on. Junior mouthed to Kris, _He's here,_ and she nodded as subtly as she could, so the boy wouldn't see. Kris mouthed, _One, two, three,_ as Junior, in one swift motion, grabbed the covers and pulled them up quickly. Just as fast, he grabbed his son and tackled him on the bed. Kris held him down as Junior started to tickle him. He found that Tim was also like Kris in this respect. He had all the same ticklish spots that she did, therefore it made it way too easy for Junior.

Tim laughed loudly and squirmed under his father, begging for mercy. Junior finally stopped and he rolled over, still laughing. He felt a hand touch his other side and realized his mom was now joining in. She got to his most ticklish spot and didn't bother to stop when Tim begged her to. He felt the man that had lay there motionless join in again and the two adults joined in on Tim's laughter.

"Stop!" Tim screeched at the top of his lungs. His parents didn't relent. He rolled off the bed and pretended to hurt. He did his most convincing fake cry, and smiled inside when he realized they both came running to his side, believing him. Their arms were around his shoulders, trying to make the fake pain go away, and the boy seized the opportunity. He took one hand and started tickling his dad and the other, his mom. They were all rolling on the floor again, having a blast.

Eventually, Kris and Junior one the on-going tickle-fest. Junior lifted Tim up onto the bed and sat him up. He proceeded to sit next to him as Kris got ready to take a shower. They talked and laughed together, becoming closer by the second. Kris smiled when she heard them from the shower. For having just met, she thought, they're doing great.

He saw their shadows dancing on the walls of the house. The dawn's sunrise had produced enough light for the shadow's to appear crystal clear. Junior, Kris, and Tim, together. He couldn't believe it. He knew he had to break it, as evil as that was. He just couldn't stand it. He watched as one shadow disappeared and the other two, one big, one small, sat on the bed near the window. He looked at the man with the spiky hair and his son, who had leaned into his side. He felt one thing, jealousy. The green monster was attacking him again, and this time, he was afraid it would win. And he knew as well as anyone that the wrath it made was not a pretty one.


	9. Family

A/N: Okay, so I finally updated! I'll try to update other stories from this series l8r.. maybe I hope, lol. And I'm going to try and update my other ones, too. If I don't get them up tonight though, please bare with me. And "Undying Sequel" should be up not long after this!

Matt got into the Raintree truck and drove off from Kris' house. He should have known this would come back and bite him in the ass. He just had to see her. He hadn't visited in god knew how long and he missed her, Tim too. He'd wanted to see how she was, what she thought of Junior being there.

His questions were answered quickly. By the looks of things, she was fine. And she obviously loved Junior being there. He felt his fist clench on the steering wheel as his knuckles turned white. He accelerated as he pulled onto the highway, but quickly slowed down. He needed to control this. Control his anger for once. He didn't want to end up dead this time.

Kris finally got out of the shower and got dressed as fast as she could. She walked out into her bedroom to find Junior asleep, with Tim's head laying on his chest. She felt tears burn at the back of her eyes, but swallowed hard to keep them from coming. She walked over the the bed, watching a bit of water from her still-wet hair drip onto Junior's arm.

She watched his face screw up and quickly wiped the water away, making his face go back to its normal peaceful state. _I can't believe how fast everything is happening,_ Kris thought to herself. She knew that maybe it was a little too fast, but she also knew that she still loved him. And after all that time they had spent apart, all she wanted to do was be with him, all the time. As much as possible.

He felt her near him, and this caused him to awaken. He opened his eyes and looked at a teary-eyed Kris. He immediately sat up, careful not to wake his son, and gave her a look full of concern. He rubbed her back soothingly, and she gave him a weak smile.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a quiet, child-like voice.

"I just- It's you and Tim. I've waited for so long to see you two together and now-" she cut herself off before she started into hysterics. She quietly sobbed into Junior's shoulder as he hugged her tightly. He felt himself start to cry at what he had done to her. He had been so horrible and ruthless and it killed him to think he had hurt her so much.

He gently, carefully, pulled her away from him and looked her straight in the eye, a solemn look on his face. "I am so sorry, Kris. I promise you that I won't ever leave you two, ever again," Junior whispered quietly to her. She nodded, tears still streaming down her face.

Junior looked at her face, how beautiful it was even when she was sad. She looked up from her lap and into his eyes, trying to best to smile as he leaned in slowly and gave her a slow kiss, letting his lips stay on hers un-moving for a few seconds. He reluctantly pulled away from her, so that they wouldn't wake Tim.

Since he still needed to shower before their day at the park, he got up and grabbed his clothes from last night, putting them on. He walked back over to Kris, who was now in front of her dresser, putting her damp hair up. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her another kiss. He smiled as her eager tongue crept into his mouth, but pulled away soon-after.

"I need to go back to the hotel. You know, shower, get some clean clothes," he said just above a normal tone. He smiled at her sad face and said, "But I'll hurry and be back as soon as I can, okay?"

"Okay," she said shyly, flashing her patented smile at him. He grinned and gave her a few more pecks on her lips before walking backwards out of the room. His eyes never left hers as he left. They stayed connected, by something invisible, as he went out to his car and looked up to the window where she was.

He drove at an astonishingly fast speed for it being so early in the morning, and found himself in his hotel room only 5 minutes after he had left Kris' house. He grabbed some random clothes out of his suitcase, not realized until after he'd stepped out of the shower that it was two pairs of pants. He walked out by the bed, wearing only a pair of boxers with parakeets on them. He grabbed a blue long sleeved t-shirt and got dressed. He messed up his hair in his normal routine and grabbed his wallet, ready to go in a matter of 5 minutes.

He drove just as quickly, if not more quickly, back to her house. He was surprised when he got there that she and Tim were waiting on the front steps, her arms placed on his shoulders. He smiled at waved at them. Time ran over to the car and Junior got out as quickly as he could, running into a little boy with outstretched arms. He raised his eyebrows at Kris over Tim's shoulders and she just shrugged in response, starting to walk towards him.

"He just couldn't wait to spend the day with his dad," she said pulling her son away from him and hugging Junior. "Hey, I was wondering if we could take your car. Mine's pretty low on gas," Kris said as she leaned into Junior's side. She was getting really comfortable with having him around now. It was really nice.

"Yeah sure. That's cool. Are you guys ready then?" Junior asked her. She nodded, as did Tim, but much more emphatically. They got in the car and began the half-hour ride to the park, chatting happily the entire way.


	10. Question

Kris and Junior sat together on a bench as Tim played with a few other kids on the playground. Junior's arm was around Kris tightly as she leaned into his side, comforted by his warm, firm body. He turned to look at her for a moment and then turned his attention back to the field of well-kept trees and grass, contemplating how to say what he wanted to say. He thought for a moment and then noticed his leg bouncing nervously from fear. He put his hand on it and it stopped long enough for him to utter the thing that had been haunting him for the last eight years.

"Kris?" Junior asked her in a small, quiet, comforting tone.

"Yeah?" She said in response to him, turning toward him so that their eyes locked.

"Would you have married me if I hadn't left?" he asked her quietly, scanning her face.

There it was. That question. He had planned, before the entire Matt saga, that when she broke up with Matt he would ask her to marry him. That they could just leave this town and never come back, starting a new life together. But then, she had prolonged that relationship and tortured him, causing him to leave. This had been on his mind every day for the last 8 years. When he was alone in bed, his mind was bombarded with thoughts of what could have been. Dreams of a married life for forever with Kris. Nightmares of Matt coming and destroying that. He had even imagined having children with Kris, three to be exact, and raising them as perfect kids. But now, it was all out in the open, the question that he had always wanted to ask her after he had left, but couldn't because of the damage done to their relationship. But now, he could ask, and he did. All he had to worry about in the present was her answer.

"I-" Kris began. She had no clue where this had come from. They hadn't talked about the past too much in the last few days, and now, all of a sudden, Junior sprang a big question like this on her. She pulled herself out of his warm grasp and stared ahead, mesmerized by the yellow finches flitting around as she thought about this. She really wasn't sure, but she couldn't tell Junior that. She knew that he wanted to hear that she would have, but he would also expect her to tell the truth, for they had always been completely and utterly truthful with each other.

He patiently waited. It had startled him when she pulled away. He didn't think he would receive an answer from her. He thought she was going to go get their son and leave, never speaking to him again. As usual, Junior had expected the worst. But, instead, here they sat, a somewhat uncomfortable silence falling over them as Kris stayed quiet.

"Junior, I don't know how to answer that. I didn't want to hurt Matt or your guys' friendship, that was why I didn't break up with him," Kris said, hoping maybe that would satisfy him. No such luck.

"You're not answering my question, Kris." Junior ruffled up his hair in controlled frustration. "I just don't understand why you're avoiding it."

"Avoiding what, Junior?" Kris made an attempt to hold his hand, but he pulled away from her, scooting a few inches toward the end of the bench.

"Avoiding the question. I just want to know, Kris."

"Junior, that was eight years ago. It doesn't matter anymore," Kris said in response.

Junior turned on her, a blazing fierceness behind his normally calm, caring eyes. She jumped slightly at this side of Junior. It scared her. She never saw him angry, but knew from stories that Dani had told her that it was best to stay away from him when his temper flared. He didn't let that happen too much, but when it did, it was on overload.

"It matters to me," he snapped out, a biting anger to his voice. He wasn't sure why what she had said had made him so indescribably angry, but he just needed an answer.

Kris was taken aback and gave him a confused look as she backed away from him a little.

He glanced over at his parents to see how they were doing. What he saw surprised him and he continued to watch them interact. Instead of hugging each other and watching him, they had spread apart and looked upset. His mom looked scared, but his father looked angry. He froze, standing at the top of the slide, and stared at them, wondering what they were talking about.

"Junior, I don't know what to say here. I know what you want to hear, but I'm not completely sure if thats how I felt. I guess- I don't know. I suppose I would have said no. But only because we were young. Junior, all that matters is _now._ How we feel right this second." Kris reached for his hand and he let her hold it for a minute before he pulled away from her.

"I'm gonna go play with Tim for a little bit," he said staring straight ahead. He was beginning to feel tears burn at the back of his eyes and didn't feel like crying out in the open right now. He didn't feel like showing Kris his emotions either. He was just in a crabby mood and he thought maybe his son could fix that. He thought wrong.

"What happened?" Tim asked him as soon as he got within hearing distance. He sighed heavily and went to push the swing that he was on.

"Everything's fine," he said as he watched Timothy fly high in the air. His son thought otherwise. He dragged his feet on the ground and ran away from his dad, over to his mother, who was sitting on the bench alone, staring away from him.

It only took Junior a moment to catch up to Tim and they both walked over to Kris. Junior noticed tear stains on her face and immediately sat down next to her, rubbing her back. He regretted deeply what had happened earlier and wished there were some way to make it better. But he knew that when Kris was upset, it took a while for her to forgive.

She jerked away from his touch as it sent chills down her spine. She looked to her son who had a frightened look on his face at the fact that his parents might be fighting. For his sake, she went back into Junior's grasp and let him comfort her. She knew it would be hard on Tim if they fought a lot, and they normally didn't, so she just decided to let it go this time.

A/N: Sorry the ending sucked everyone. I think the whole chapter sucked and I just kinda felt like I needed to post a new one so I did. I think the idea was good, but the writing was crappy. Please review and try to be nice! Thanks and I'll try to make the next one better..


	11. Long

"So, I was thinking," Junior said one day after Kris had dropped Tim off at school, "We should go out on a date, just the two of us. Some dinner, maybe a movie. Whaddya think?"

Kris stopped. He had come up behind her and was about a foot away from her. Things were a little rocky for a couple of days after the incident in the park, but now it had been almost a week and she had forgiven Junior. It was an innocent question, after all. She should have just answered it.

"I think that sounds great," Kris said emphatically, taking one broad step over to Junior and touching her lips to his. "Is tonight okay? I can get a sitter. Unless you want to try and brave seeing your sister." Kris gave him a look of sympathy and pity.

"I think if I do see her anytime soon, I need to do it myself. It has been eight years, after all. I need to talk to her. And Matt too, I guess. The one person I refuse-"

"Your dad. He, uh, he visited a little while ago. After you'd left the first day you came here. I couldn't figure our his motive, though," Kris said.

"Do you think he knows?" Junior said.

"He's Ken Davis, Junior. He probably does. But I hope not," Kris shook her head. "How 'bout we change the subject?"

"Good idea. What movie do you want to see?" Junior had Kris in his arms now and they were rocking back and forth on their toes, seemingly dancing a dance only they knew.

"You pick," She answered. Truth be told, she wasn't even sure what was playing. Anything she heard about these days involved robots, shooting, or some other kind of violence.

"Okay then. Do you know where you want to eat?" Junior asked her.

"Nope," was Kris' answer.

"Have you been living in a hole the past eight years?" He said, laughing jokingly at her.

"I've been cooking, mostly. Frozen stuff and we rarely go out," Kris said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Okay, well then, we'll go somewhere nice," Junior said matter-of-factly.

Kris nodded her head and said, "Okay then," with a smile on her face. "I'm gonna go shower," she added, giving him a peck on the lips, while still in his embrace.

However, Junior was feeling mischievous this morning, and held onto her. She pulled and pulled at his arms, but they wouldn't budge. Before she knew it, he had picked her up and kissed her again, this kiss much more deep and serious. Her hands ran through his thick hair while his stayed on her waist, comfortably resting there.

Kris managed to break away, breathless, and found that after that kiss Junior was weaker, easier to pull away from. She got out of his arms and ran up the steps. She was surprised beyond belief when she heard fast footsteps behind her, and Junior tickled her from behind.

She buckled over in laughter and he swooped in to pick her up again. She squealed as he threw her onto the bed, getting on top of her. He tugged at the bottom seam of her shirt, but she put it down.

"Juniorrr..." Kris mumbled into their kisses. She took all of her strength and pulled her head away from him. "Junior." He dove in and kissed her again, but this time she didn't kiss back and her eyes stayed open. Junior finally got the message and rolled off of her.

"What?" He sounded irritated. Even he could tell. He softened his voice and repeated, "What?" Junior stroked Kris' face and hair gently.

"It's just- Early. I mean I really, really want to, Junior. Ever since that day you first came here- But, can't it wait until tonight? After a romantic date?" Kris asked him.

"Kris... Yeah, okay. That's fine," he said. There was no tinge to his voice, much to his amazement. He sounded like it really was fine, and maybe it was.

Kris let out a long breath. "Cool," she said. She sat up and went into the bathroom to take her shower.

Junior flopped back on the bed and flipped through an old magazine. He heard the bathroom door creak and Kris came out, with only a towel wrapped around her. And a tiny towel at that.

"Hey now, that is just not fair," Junior whined, a laugh in his voice. She turned to look at him and smiled, taking her underwear out of the drawer and dangling it in front of her face. Junior groaned and got up, chasing her into the bathroom. She was far too fast and light on her feet, though, and shut the bathroom door in his face.

"And that is _seriously_ not fair, Kris!" he yelled through the door, pounding on it. He finally gave up and went to the bed to sit back down. Kris came out a moment later, fully dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. She smiled, shrugging her shoulders as she did, and pranced downstairs.

Junior shook his head and got his clothes together before jumping in the shower. If this morning was any indication, it was gonna be a long day. And night.

A/N: I totally didn't realize how short this was! I'm working on another one right now! Don't worry, lol.


	12. Together Again

Kris was so nervous. This was officially her and Junior's first date. They hadn't gone out together, by themselves, at all. She was practically shaking. She wasn't really sure why, but she felt like she was going to screw it up. She didn't know how she would, but she felt like she would. She sighed and gave her hair a bob, fluffing the bun that it was in.

She wasn't able to get a sitter tonight. After all, it was a Friday night, everyone was going out. So, without telling Junior, she'd called Dani. That was where she had taken Tim earlier when she "dropped him off at the sitter's house." She knew she couldn't tell him, it would wreck their evening.

Kris was shaken out of her thoughts when Junior knocked on the door. He was dressed in black pants, an orange shirt, and a striped tie. He looked amazing. He'd even combed his hair differently from the scraggliness it had been since he'd come back.

"Are you ready?" Junior asked, walking behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders. She looked so beautiful. She was wearing a black dress that fell just below mid-calf, and every time the light caught the piece of fabric, the sparkles on it glistened.

"No," Kris answered honestly.

"Why?" he said, giving her a confused look.

"I"m nervous, Junior," she answered, taking three broad steps over to their bed. "I mean, we haven't been on a real date in eight years. _Eight years._ What if something goes wrong and-" Kris stopped herself before she got overly-emotional.

"And I leave?" When Kris nodded, he continued. "I wouldn't be that stupid again, Kris. Just relax and everything is going to be alright." Junior sat next to her and rubbed her upper arm soothingly.

She leaned her head down on his shoulder as she felt an unwelcomed tear slide down her face. She felt ready now. This night would be good for them, she was sure of it. She just needed to do what Junior had told her to, relax. And so she stood, Junior's arm still around her.

"Are you ready now?" Junior asked her.

"Give me a few minutes I'll be down there in a second," Kris said, gently shoving him out the door.

"Okay," Junior yelled halfway down the steps. Kris didn't know it, but Junior had something he needed to take care of.

Kris wiped the little bit of mascara that had run on her face. She got a washcloth from in the bathroom, ran cold water over it, and dabbed it gently on her face. The last thing she needed was to smudge the rest of her makeup. She rubbed it along her neck and then when she was sure she felt better, put it back in the bathroom.

When she returned to the bedroom, she looked at the bed. There sat her purse and the shawl she was bringing in case it got cold in the restaurant. She ran over and plopped down. She stared at her reflection. From how she looked, you wouldn't have been able to tell she'd been in hysterics not that long ago. Her eyes met themselves in the mirror. _Are you sure this is what you want? You need to trust him fully and completely, _her eyes asked themselves through the glass. She shook her head at what she was doing and went downstairs, grabbing her purse and shawl on the way.

"Are you ready now?" Junior asked her in a playfully teasing tone.

"Let's go," Kris said, heaving a sigh. She was tired already, and it was only 6:45. Their reservations were for seven o'clock, but sometimes it was better to get to these types of places early.

"Hey," Junior said. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him so she was flush against his body. Then he slowly brought his face down to hers and kissed her slowly. She tensed when he first touched their lips together, but he felt her slowly relax against him as the kiss got a little heavier. He pulled his lips away from Kris' and kissed her once more on the mouth. Junior left their fingers laced together as they walked outside to the car.

Their hands broke for as small a time as Kris could handle. The contact made her feel better. Made her feel more strong. And when Junior got in on his side and entwined his fingers with hers again, she squeezed hard. He looked at her and smiled as he started the engine.

When they got there, Kris saw that the parking lot was packed. There were two limos, one black, one white, parked by the door and she watched as some very well-dressed, probably even more well paid, people stepped out of the vehicles.

Junior found a parking spot not too far away from the door. He came over to the passenger side to open the door for Kris. He held out his hand for her to take and lifted her out of the low-riding seat. When she was up and at his side, he put his hand on the small of her back and led her to the doors, which were held open by a plump black man in a well-kept black suit.

Kris smiled at the kind man who had held the door open for them and thanked him. In a word, to her, this was all fairy-tale-like. Surreal. When she and Junior had gone out all those years ago, the fanciest place he had ever taken her was to Mario's.

At this restaurant, the crystal chandeliers were large and sparkly, and you could almost smell the money radiating off of people that passed. Kris felt so out of place with her almost knee-length dress that she had gotten on sale at JC Penny. She could hear the thoughts of the women that passed her, wearing their Dior cocktail dresses and Cartier 2 karat diamond necklaces. _Look at that girl,_ their voices hissed. _She'll never belong in this restaurant, much less this world._

As they were led to their seats in the restaurant, Junior looked over at Kris, who looked intimidated. Her body had shrunken to more than half its size since they'd entered the restaurant. He grabbed her hand back and held their hands in between them. He gave her a reassuring look, and she responded by giving him a sheepish smile.

When they were finally seated out on the patio, Kris looked at the menu. Most of it was French. They were in America, they could at least translate the menu. She couldn't even pronounce hardly any of it. She frowned and put the menu down, staring at the cover. She hadn't even known the name of the restaurant, and now that she was faced with it, she found she couldn't pronounce that, either. She sighed and glanced over in Junior's direction, where his eyes were scanning over the menu.

"You already know what you want?" Junior asked her. He was surprised. He'd been here a couple of other times with his dad, so he knew some things that would probably be good to get. He was just looking at the menu to see if anything jumped out at him.

"Uhh... I think I'm just getting a salad and some water," Kris said, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head a little bit.

"You sure?" Junior asked her, a look of concern written on his face.

"Yeah," She said, nodding.

The waiter came up just then and put some glasses on the table, one for white wine, one for red, and a larger, more round one for ice water. He filled the water glasses.

"Are you ready to order?" the man in the tuxedo asked them.

Before Kris could say anything, Junior said, "Could you just give us a few more minutes?" The waiter nodded curtly and sped off toward another table.

"Weren't you ready, too?" Kris asked him.

"Yeah, but, I mean- You should have something different tonight. It's a special night, after all," Junior said.

"I really just want a salad."

"But Kris, they have really-"

"Junior, stop please," Kris said with a firm tinge to her voice. She shot him a meaningful look.

"Kris," He reached over to her side of the table and grabbed her hand, his eyes boring into hers.

"I just- Feel- I feel so out of place here, Junior. These people- the way they dress- and the menu, I can't pronounce hardly _any_ of it," Kris said to him. Her voice was strained. She was even more tired now and just wanted to curl up in bed.

"Okay, here's the deal. We'll both get salads and some dessert, and then we'll head home. Sound good?" Junior said, rubbing his thumb in circles on her hand.

Kris nodded. Salad and dessert didn't sound half bad right now. And maybe even some coffee with dessert. Fancy places like this always served coffee with dessert. Although here it probably had a funny name.

"Good," Junior said as he placed a small kiss on the top of her hand.

The waiter came back a few minutes later and Junior ordered for them. Two salads, and two club sodas. He'd managed to convince Kris to get that instead of water.

Junior excused himself to go to the bathroom. As he washed his hands at the shiny sink in the well-lit bathroom, a felt a bulge in his pocket. He took out the box that was in there and stared at it for a moment. He'd completely forgotten about the reason he'd taken Kris somewhere so fancy this evening. _Well, _he thought to himself, _it's gonna have to wait for a while. Tonight just isn't the night._ He put the box back into his pocket and finished drying off his hands.

As he walked out he looked at Kris from across the room. She was looking around rather frantically. He finally managed to catch her eye and when their eyes met he smiled at her. She smiled back. And it was a genuine smile, of true happiness. He saw that their salads had arrived.

When Junior walked over Kris felt like everything would be better. He sat down and they started eating their supper in silence. Kris finished quickly and found Junior was already done when she was.

Someone came to clear their table and they ordered dessert. Junior was so bold as to order a bottle of red wine for them to have with the chocolate cake. The cake and wine came quickly and was presented very well.

Junior poured the wine for them. Kris hadn't really drunk wine much around him, but he'd thought it would be a nice treat for something different. He watched as Kris slowly raised the clear glass to her lips and took a very small sip. Her face didn't register any particular emotion as to whether or not she liked it, so he assumed that she did.

Kris dug her fork delicately into her cake and let it dissolve on her tongue. It tasted so good. Like perfection or heaven. She took another sip of wine and let the cool, fruity liquid slide down her throat. She would savor this. It had to have been the most amazing dessert in the world. She didn't used to be much of a wine drinker except on special occasions, but in this particular red, you could hardly taste the alcohol.

Half an hour later, they were finished and had paid the bill. Junior was thankful, because he was getting a little bit of a buzz from the wine and he just wanted to go home. It was also getting increasingly loud in the restaurant as more people filtered in and out, and he hated seeing Kris uncomfortable.

He pulled the car to a stop in the driveway of Kris' house, which was completely dark and void of any life what-so-ever. Kris was about to get out herself, but remember the theme of the evening. Junior was always such a gentleman on their dates. She appreciated it. A lot.

When they got inside, Junior wrapped Kris up in a hug. She melted as he whispered in her ear, "I love you." Kris took her head away from his shoulder and up to his lips, pressing them against hers and moving them in a way she was sure would have been forgotten in all their years spent apart.

Junior felt Kris' arms wrap around his neck loosely and play with the ends of his soft hair. He smiled and deepened the kiss, lifting her so her legs were around his waist. He braced his hands behind her head and played with the fuzzies that had come out of her bun. Slowly and carefully, Junior carried Kris up the steps to the bedroom, taking one of his hands off of her lower back to close the door. It went right back to the same spot and he lay her gently back on the bed, his body right on top of hers.

She felt a new kind of exhilaration running through her body. The way Junior's body was pressed so close to hers made her hold him even closer, their body's fitting together. Chills ran down her spine as he delicately slipped her black shrug off of her shoulders, tossing it to the floor. She let out a quiet moan when Junior's finger's brushed the bottom of her spine as he unzipped her dress.

She loosened his tie and took it off of him, unbuttoning his shirt soon afterward. The tie and shirt got thrown in two completely different directions and she slipped his pants down without even bothering to unbutton or unzip them. But then Kris stopped, breathing heavily.

She was scared. They hadn't done this in eight years. That was such a long time. What if it wasn't the same now? What if she did something wrong? Killed the mood?

"Kris?" Junior questioned. He was only in his boxers, which were blue plaid. He sat up and scooted over to where she was at the top of the bed.

"I- Are you sure we should be doing this? It isn't too fast? I mean- what if something happens? And we get irritated and-" Kris started to say, but she stopped herself.

"I don't think it's too fast. Nothing bad will happen. I am sure we should be doing this because the one thing I know is that for the past eight years, the only person I've been able to think about is you. The way your hair curls at the ends when its humid, the way you laugh when I tickle you. The way that you blush when I touch a sensitive spot," Junior put his hand on her knee, one of the telltale spots, and watched her face get pink as she smiled shyly. "And how much I still love you after all that time that I never saw you."

Kris looked up at him and smiled. His loving gaze drifted down to her soft lips and he leaned in, locking their lips together. It wasn't too long before their bodies were locked together and their tongues entangled.

Kris lay flat on her back, breathing heavily. She was surprised that they could- that they were still so... She smiled at the memory that had been filed away tonight. She felt Junior shift to face her and she tried to calm her breathing. She turned to him so they were facing each other.

"Wow," Junior said quietly, smiling a goofy smile that made Kris laugh.

When she stopped laughing, she replied. "Yeah," she said. She brought her head closer to his and kissed him. It was a long, lazy kiss. One that made them forget where they were, what time it was. Made them forget everything.

After they had broken the kiss, Kris scooted closer to Junior and lay her head of soft, full hair on his chest. She felt his breath on her neck, hot and ragged. She ran her hand up and down the soft skin of Junior's chest and felt his breathing go softer.

This was a wonderful night. He didn't ever want to leave this spot in this bed with Kris. As her fingernails ran along his chest he felt his heavy breathing give way to a calm breathing pattern. One that was relaxed. The feel of Kris' skin on his skin was something he had managed to forget in the time they were apart. He knew know that it wouldn't be something he would forget again. It was something that felt so amazing, so special. The way that they never lost contact.

Junior sighed into Kris hair and kissed the curly lumps that had fallen down. "God, I missed this. Us. I love you so much, Kris."

Kris looked up into his face, which was dreamy, but still serious. "I did too. And I love you, too, Junior. So, so much."

Their bodies curled together in a way that was so familiar to them both that it was almost boring. They put each other to sleep with their calm breathing and the feeling of the other one's body. The thing they didn't know was that they had both fallen asleep with small, dreamy smiles on their faces.


	13. A Surpise Visit

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated this! But, here's chapter 13 for you to read!

"Dammit, Junior!" Kris was the first one to wake up when she realized the voice that was coming from downstairs.

Next was Junior, however. A rather disgruntled Junior. He looked at the clock next to him and sighed when he saw it was only 6:45 in the morning. He shot directly up in bed when he realized he recognized the voice yelling up the stairs.

"You better get your ass down here!" Bellowed the woman at the top of her lungs. "And Kris too!" She added just as loud.

Junior and Kris looked at each other. Then Kris hopped up and put some old, dirty jeans and a wrinkled t-shirt on. It took Junior a few seconds to catch up to what was going on, but when he did, he shuffled out of bed and put some sweatpants on. He looked in the mirror at himself and realized there was a look of fear on his face. Fear of being exposed. Especially to his dad.

Their feet thumped down the steps at the same speed, with the same urgency. When Junior and Kris' eyes met with Dani's face, they both froze on the fourth last step to the bottom (A/N: make sense?).

Junior started to walk back up the steps, but Kris grabbed his arm and glared at him. He rolled his eyes and walked back down the steps, Kris following.

Kris was about to say something, but it was as if she weren't there. Dani slapped her brother hard on the face. Junior's had a look of shock on his face and she just stood there, raising her eyebrows. He held his right cheek and Kris noticed the small red patch that he was covering up.

"Well, happy hello to you too, my favorite little sister," Junior said to Dani. "You know, they say when you've missed someone, you should hug them, not give them a bruise the size of Texas on the side of their face. But then again, our family has never been normal, right?" He smirked at her and the glare she shot back made him involuntarily back up a step or two.

"How in the _hell_ could you do that?!" She said oddly calm. "I was worried about you for so long, and when you finally _do_ come back, I have to hear it from a completely different person, not even my own _brother_! And you! Kris! You could've told me the reason I was watching your son was because my own brother had come back into town!"

"Dani, look. We thought it was best to keep it under wraps for a little bit. Neither of us wanted to stir anything up," Kris said to her.

"Well, you did a hell of a job, then, didn't you?" Dani snapped fiercely.

"Dani! Back off, would you?" Junior said. "I think that you and _I_ need to talk. Let's just leave Kris out of it for now."

"Ju-" Kris started, but his look silenced her.

"Just go upstairs with Tim, okay?" He said, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.

She did as she was told, only somewhat reluctantly. Kris ushered her son upstairs to her bedroom and shot Junior a look of sympathy and love as he walked into the kitchen with Dani.

A/N: Short chapter, I know. I already have the next one written and I'll post it as soon as I get 5 reviews, promise! I just thought that I should wait for Junior and Dani's conversation/confrontation to happen in a separate chapter. Please review!


	14. Mended

"So, why don't you start by telling me how you found out," Junior said to Dani as they both sat down at the counter.

"How do you think, Junior? Your son," She said snottily.

"You know, Dani, I'm being relatively calm about this, and I'd appreciate it if you were too, alright? This talk is long overdue and-"

"Gee, ya _think?_" Dani snapped out venemously.

"And," Junior continued, taking a deep breath, "Some things need to be said. By _both_ of us, not just me."

"Oh really? What do I need to say? What could I possibly have to say to you? The brother who left without saying anything to anyone? For all we knew, you were dead. Do you have _any_ idea how that made me feel? And Kris? Matt? Even _Dad,_ Junior. He was upset, too," Dani said, getting a little bit calmer with every word she spoke. She smoothed her skirt down over her legs.

"Look, I'm sorry, Dani. It was eight years ago-"

"The scars are still there," she said quietly, looking up into her brother's eyes. She felt tears burning her retinas and she let them cascade down her small round face.

Junior felt terrible. He knew that would probably mean nothing to Dani at this point, but it was the truth. All he wanted to do was hug her and tell her that he hoped she would forgive him. He'd hurt her, so, so much. That was apparent now. He just wanted things to go back to the way they used to be, but knew that it would take a long time for that to happen.

"Dani, I-" She rose from her seat and wrapped him up in a big hug, squeezing him so hard his eyes bugged out. He relaxed a little and patted her back, smoothing down her straight hair.

"It's not okay, Junior. What you did is definitely _not okay._ But, you were right when you said it has been eight years. I just wish you would have told me when you'd come back," She said. Her voice broke and she started sobbing. Junior hugged her again and told her that he was sorry. He kept repeating those words, "I'm sorry", over and over into her ear.

Dani pulled out of the hug and said, "I need to go. I have to get to work. But, how 'bout all of us have dinner together? You, me, and Kris."

Junior drew in a breath and shook his head slightly, a look of doubtfulness on his face.

"Think about it," she stated as she sniffed.

Junior nodded and gave her another quick embrace before she walked out, her black high heels clunking against the tile floor.

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Kris asked Junior later when he came out of the bathroom, a toothbrush in his mouth and a towel around his waist. They hadn't had a chance to talk when Junior was done with Dani, because she was talking with Tim and he'd decided to shower.

"Hnm," He said, a little bit of white foam coming out of his mouth. "Am!" he said and more splattered. He went into the bathroom, covering his mouth, and spit into the sink. Kris laughed the entire time.

"Uh," Kris said, staring at Junior's bottom half.

"What?" he said as he got up from scrubbing with a towel. His eyes followed to what hers were staring at and he put his hands over where the towel _had _been, crossing his legs.

Kris started laughing again, her face getting red. He emerged again with boxers on. She let out a few more constrained giggles and he just shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"Alright," Junior said. "We're going to finish what we were talking about, so help me God."

Kris let out a muted laugh, her shoulders shrugging as she hid a big smile. "Okay, so, I asked how things went..." Kris said, starting their conversation over again.

"They went fine. I think Dani and I are alright. For now, anyway," He said, letting out a sigh as he gazed out the window.

"Good," she said, nodding and smiling at him.

Junior walked over to the bed, his eyes slitted a little bit, and a smirk plastered on his face. As he sat down on the bed, Kris furrowed her brows and drew her head back in disbelief. She shook her head at him, but he continued to lean in and he kissed her, his hands drifting up the sides of her body.

So that was what we was doing. She laughed ever harder when he tickled her under-arms.

"Payback," he whispered as he kissed her, still tickling her.

"No!" Kris said, but he cut her off with another kiss, silencing her. "No..." she said, smiling and laughing, into the many kisses that followed. She laughed as his hands found the spot that she was most ticklish in, her tummy.

"Junior!" she squealed.

"Do you promise to make it up to me?" he asked her huskily, his hands frozen where they were. "Do you promise to be nice from now on?"

When she didn't respond he made her giggle and screech again as his hands roamed her stomach and sides.

"Yes!" Kris yelled out loudly and he finally stopped. He looked into her eyes and she quietly murmured, "Yes," as his lips folded over hers again. They fell back against the just-fluffed pillows and Kris tried to talk into Junior's kisses, but his tongue slipped into her mouth.

"Mm!" she said. She struggled and struggled, but Junior wouldn't let her free. "Junior," she said when they pulled away for a breath.

"What?" he asked dumbly.

"Tim," she said, that one word being the answer to everything.

"Right," he whispered. "Tim's our son." He kissed her again, but she rolled over, her face hitting the pillow.

Junior sighed heavily, running his hands through his hair. He sat back on his knees and looked down at Kris who was screaming into the pillow. He could hear a muffled, "I hate this!" come out of her mouth. He lay down next to her, the front of his face right next to her ear.

"What do you hate?" he asked softly.

"Not being able to live like normal people who love each other! I hate thinking of Tim every time we kiss. And every time that it almost leads to something else..." She said.

"Kris, look at me," Junior said firmly.

She turned around, getting comfortable and looking him in the eye.

"I love you," he said, holding either side of her face with his hands. "And that means that I'm not going to pressure you, or make you do anything you don't want to do. You get that, right?"

"I guess," She said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"Good," Junior replied, kissing her forehead. "What's our son doing?" He liked the way that son felt on his tongue. The way that it rolled off.

"He's doing homework," Kris said. "It usually takes him a while."

"How about a nap? We did get woken up awful early this morning by the sleep-fairy," he said, smiling.

She smiled back and said in reply, "Sure."

They snuggled up together and fell asleep, happily content with the current state of their lives together.


End file.
